Learning from a Reversal
by Joltiria
Summary: Soren has everything he could ever want in life; fame, luck, public attention. But, he feels as if everything has been handed to him on a silver platter. He leaves Kalos to try and find himself, find his own path to what he wants.Taking the Hoenn Contest route, he bumps into a brash, loud mouthed tomboy called Ashlynn who shows him the true path of strength. Genderbender Amour AU


**WARNING: Whilst this is Amourshipping, this is genderbent Amourshipping. Meaning? Yeah, Serena's a dude in this one, just so you know. But, there are still Performances and stuff, more like Contests in this one but still.**

 **This is an AU where trainers start from 15, Ash and Serena meet up in Hoenn instead of Kalos (That may come later ;) ) and this is a ORAS AU of the Advanced Generation. No Brock, May or Max though, sorry if you guys like them. I may add Brock later, if demand arises, but May's a rival so no can do buckoos.**

 **Other things to note:**

 **1\. Performances are open to males and females alike. The Princess keys are now called Royalty keys and the winner is crowned Kalos King/Queen depending on their gender.**

 **2\. Miette is also a dude in this one, where else would the 'rivalry of the ships' come from? Her name is now Michael just as Serena's is Soren**

 **3\. Ash has just competed in the Silver Conference at the same time as Soren's Master Class. The Kalos journey with Clemont and Bonnie hasn't happened yet.**

 **4\. Ash's Hoenn team is different. Torkoal has been replaced with Numel and there is a full team of six instead of just five. Soren's is the exact same as Serena's.**

 **Also, this story is also on Wattpad. So I decided to bring it here too. Minor swearing and violence throughout as a warning to you all.**

 **Anyway, with that being said. Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy.**

~0~o~0~

White, trainer covered feet slowly and carefully tread themselves through the overgrowth of the woods. Brambles and sharp twigs dug into legs that were only protected from the knee up with loose cream shorts. Hands clenched a white t-shirt, knuckles visible under the force they were clutching the fabric with. Bright lazuli eyes fluttered as strands of honey blond hair tickled eyelashes thanks to the breeze that had just flown by. The boy, no older than eight years, continued to cautiously make his way though, lost beyond belief. He had no idea where he was and he wanted to be anywhere but there at that moment. He wanted his mummy, he wanted home.

Soren never wanted to come to Professor Oak's Summer Camp in the Kanto region, but his mother had forced him to go on the assumption that the experience would be good for him. No less than five hours into the experience and the poor boy already was shaking in his shoes. It was bad enough that he was lost, but lost with wild Pokémon everywhere he turned? It was safe to say that Soren was not too happy about his current situation.

A sudden rustling in the bushes nearby startled him, making him scream and stubble. Soren tripped over protruding tree root and fell, scrapping his knee during the landing. The pain raced through his leg and, coupled with the fear coursing through his veins, it was enough to bring tears to his eyes as whatever was hiding slowly made its way towards him. Was it a huge monster? Was it a deadly poison type? Could it be...?

"Poli?"

A tiny little Poliwag. The Poliwag gazed at him, blinking twice before another set of rustling scared it off. This set sounded louder, more intimidating. There wasn't a Poliwag behind the bush this time. Soren closed his eyes, whimpering as he trembled and shook at the thought of what was coming. His voice got stuck in his throat, cutting out the option of calling for help. The rustling stopped, whatever was coming had arrived and was about to pounce with vicious anger. His muscles tensed, preparing for pain and the inevitable end but...

It never came.

"Hey, what's up with ya?" Soren slowly opened his eyes upon hearing the human voice, relieved another Pokémon hadn't arrived. The person in front of him was around his age, their raven hair pulled into a high ponytail with spikes of hair pushing outwards from the sides of their head. Amber eyes stared at him, judging and assessing the situation. The newcomer was wearing a strapped yellow top with red Poké Ball like detailing in the lower right corner. Dark blue shorts, ripped and torn, barely reached their knees and a pair of trainers – no socks included – protected their feet. Upon closer inspection, Soren realised the human was a girl, a very dirty one at that considering mud caked her arms, legs and cheeks, which had a pair of cute Z shaped birthmarks resting upon them. "Excuse me? Ya okay?"

Soren blinked, only realising he was being talked to. "Oh, umm... my knee hurts." The girl walked over, kneeling down beside him to check out the injury. She 'mmm-ed' and 'ah-ed' for a while, before leaning back and smiling.

"It's just a little graze, nothing a plaster can't fix!" She looked around the area before grinning like a madman. "Just need one little thing!"

"A-a-and what's that?" Soren inquired cautiously, wondering about the girl's thought process. She was covered in mud and staring at a tree. Was she doing to do what he thought she was...?

"An Oran Berry, luckily the things grow on trees!" She ran up to the tree in question, spitting into each of her hands before rubbing them together, and began to climb it. Soren watched as she gracefully made her way up, reaching for the closest branch with the blue berries on. Once she had picked one, she quickly climbed back down, choosing the right branches and grip-holds so she wouldn't plummet to the ground. Upon landing, she rushed back over to his form, grinning apologetically. "It's gonna sting for a bit, okay?"

"Oh kAYYY!" Soren screamed as she squished the berry between her hands, letting the juices drip onto his graze. Like the girl had said, the sting vanished after a while, along with the pain. She had managed to squeeze the berry into a pulpy paste, which she lay to rest on his graze before pulling a big plaster out of her pocket and applying it to the injured area.

"There, done!" She said proudly, kneeling back to take a look at her work. "We'd better getcha back to the professor. He'll make sure nothin's infected or anythin'." Gingerly, Soren tested his knee out, only to moan in pain. He realised the berry wasn't working fully yet.

"I... I can't get up!" He winced, hating himself for being such an idiot.

"Oh yes you can!" The girl stood up, narrowing her eyebrows to make a frown. "Never give up until the very end, and you ain't gonna end it here!" She held out her hand for Soren to take. Slowly, he clasped his hand in hers, gasping as she pulled him up. "See, now ya standin'... err..."

"Soren, my name is Soren." He replied, to which she whistled.

"Fancy pants name, huh?" She grinned before turning around and started pulling him back toward the town. "The lab's this way Soren, ya numpty. You weren't too far away from base!"

"Oh..." He stared at the back of her head as she led him back through the woods, in awe of this girl who had just appeared out of nowhere to save him. As they headed into the light, he wished he had asked her what her name was.

~0~o~0~

"And ze winner of the Master Class performance, iz...!" Tension rose drastically as the two finalists waited for the announcement of the winner. The darkness of the stage, combined with the heated auditorium didn't help Soren's nerves much as he began to sweat from the pressure. His Braxien, Pancham and Sylveon were standing to attention beside him, praying for the same result that he was. The build-up music ended, the mic went back to Monsieur Pierre's lips as he announced.

"Our reigning Kalos Queen, Aria!"

Soren's heart dropped to his stomach as a spotlight shone down on the magenta haired woman beside him. His Pokémon huddled around him, cooing and apologising profusely for making him lose. Grief of loss settled into his veins, even though he was trying to put on a brave face in the face of the cameras and lights as Monsieur Pierre placed the crown back atop of Aria's head and the crowd cheered. He politely clapped in the background as the Kalos Queen waved to the crowds in delight.

"That'z all for this time," Monsieur Pierre announced with a wave of his staff. "Ve hope to zee you all next season, for the show stopping talents of our wondrous Performers!" The audience cheered even louder, with the judges coming up to congratulate the winner. As soon as the cameras had cut out, Soren had slipped backstage to the dressing room, getting changed from his dress suit into his usual outfit of a red waistcoat, a pink shirt, grey trousers and a burgundy fedora hat. The seventeen-year-old sighed, trying to keep himself from bursting into tears.

"Soren!" He didn't even react when he heard Shauna's voice calling out to him, he didn't even react to his Pokémon cuddling him with Sylveon wrapping her feeling ribbons around them all. Soren just stared at the ground as Shauna placed a hand on his shoulder. "Are you okay?" All she got was silence. "Okay, ask a stupid question but I mean it Soren, we're all worried about you!"

"I'm okay, Shauna," Soren sniffled, reaching in the pocket of his waistcoat to find the old penny still tucked inside there. "I just realised something important."

"And what's that?" Shauna took a seat beside him, glaring back at the doorway where Michael stood, fiddling with his dark blue hair.

"Luck, my career as a Performer has just been built on luck..."

"Don't say that!" The brown haired female interrupted, frowning with a slight pout on her lips. "You are an amazing Performer! Aria just had the advantage of pandering towards most of the crowd..."

"No, it's not that..." Soren stood up as his Pokémon let go of him. "She was the better Performer than me in more ways than one. I was handed everything towards me, luck, fame, winnings. It's like Amelia said; 'What's so great about him?'. What is great about me? I'm just the same as any other Performer and yet, everything has been so natural for me except one or two losses. It's almost as if I've been given everything in life."

"Soren..." Shauna was interrupted by Michael and his Slurpuff, both of whom gave the honey haired man a knowing looking.

"You know what you have to do then?" Michael grinned when Soren looked up at him in confusion. "If you feel that way then forge your own path. Work hard so you can gain your own fame, your own luck, your own wins. If that is truly how you feel, then I suggest that's what you do. After all..." He winked with a smirk on his face. "I can't let my biggest rival fall too far behind me, that would take all of the challenge out of any future performances."

"You know," Soren began to stroke Braixen's fur, which she trilled gleefully in response to. "For once, you might be right, Michael." Michael spluttered, scoffing at the idea that he was ever wrong, much to the amusement of Shauna and Soren. "Yeah, that's it. I need to find my own path!"

"And we'll be there every step of the way!" Shauna added, glaring at Michael so he would nod in agreement.

"Ahem," The teenagers' three heads sharply towards the doorway were an elderly woman stood with greying hair and expensive clothes. Her steel eyes bore into Soren, who meekly folded in on himself. "I would like a word in private," she turned to glare at the other two performers. "If that is okay with you two."

"See you later, Soren!" Shauna dragged Michael out of the room hurriedly, scared to death of the woman who was watching them leave silently. She waited until they had both vanished from sight before she spoke.

"You know why you lost, right?" The guilt returned, making Soren squirm in his place. "You were acting as if this was just for fun. You weren't acting professionally. There is a reason why Aria won and she won because she acts like a Queen, a true Kalos Queen. As long as you have no reason behind your performances, you will not be treated as anything but a beginner."

"Palermo..."

"My offer still stands," she interrupted him with an icy stare. "I can teach you to become a true Performer, someone worthy of being Kalos King. You'll be ready for the next season, you will be ready to take on Aria. However, you have to accept it..." Palermo held out her hand, ready for the teenager to shake.

In his mind, Soren was contemplating the options of agreeing. Sure, the training would be gruelling but he would finally have the feeling of satisfaction that he was behind his own successes. However, something was holding him back from shaking the deal.

He wasn't sure he wanted to be the Performer that Palermo would shape him into being.

As a Performer, Soren had learnt that his smile was his greatest asset. He just had this smile that brought joy and happiness into others. Aria's way of performing was elegance and beauty, using her Pokémon and herself to be graceful and charm like a refined lady. Soren wasn't like that. To make people smile, he had to enjoy what he was doing and if that meant he wasn't professional then so be it. He, himself, would weld himself into a professional Performer without being forced to be somebody he didn't want to be.

"Sorry, Palermo," Soren's hand remained firmly by his side. "But I can't accept your offer. I want to find my path for myself, I want to put the hard effort in so I can earn the title of Kalos King, without anyone else telling me what to do. I need to learn for myself what I truly need to be a better Performer my own way..." He hesitated, deciding to glance at her dead in the eyes for a moment. "Sorry, but I can't accept!" Bowing his head, he waited for a scowl, a shout, anything that could show her frustration at him but... it never came. Instead, the woman was chuckling with what could be called a smile on her lips.

"I had a feeling you might have said that," she walked over to him and placed her hands on his shoulders. "In that case, let me give you some advice. If you really want to better yourself, I suggest taking the Hoenn Contest route before returning to try again. It will really open your eyes to the world of Performers as a whole, just like it did for Aria many years ago." Palermo took a step backwards, letting her words sink in to the boy's confused mind. "Once you have competed in a Grand Festival, you will understand more than you do now. So, I suggest it'd be wise if you did do that, and soon as possible. The Contest session only started a couple of weeks ago but there are already people over there with two ribbons at most."

"Ribbons?" Soren inquired, not entirely sure what they meant.

"Just like Performer collect three Royalty keys, Coordinators collect five ribbons," Palermo went to leave, only to stop and turn back to him. "However, it is your choice to make, your path to walk. I am only suggesting where to go from here. I look forwards to hearing what your choice is." With that, she left Soren behind, thinking over and over again about what she had offered.

Hoenn, a new region where no one really knew him, a fresh clean slate in the world of Contests and ribbons, a chance to prove himself and grow from his experiences. With each new thought, the prospect of travelling to Hoenn grew more enthusiastic by the moment. Looking down at his Pokémon, he smiled at them all gleefully.

"So what do you say, everyone?" Soren asked, beaming brightly at the thoughts of travelling a foreign region to prove himself worthy of his status in the world of Performance. "Who's up for travelling Hoenn for the Contest loop?" Three resounding yeses followed.

"Braixen!"

"Pan Pancham!"

"Sly veon!"

A week later and Soren was looking out of a plane window from Flight 2205 of Latias Airways, giddy from excitement over what Hoenn would bring for him. He had been researching Contests a bit so understood the basics behind each of the stages a Coordinator had to participate in if they wanted to obtain a ribbon. The idea of battling was what scared Soren the most, especially since Performers didn't really battle much. Maybe for training, yeah, but against other trainers? Friendly one on ones with Shauna, Michael and Nini aside, Soren hadn't battled properly with a goal to knock out an opponent in a show of strength. He would have to work hard to be prepared to reach his goal, and battling would be the first step towards it.

The plane would arrive at its destination soon enough, and then Soren would be starting a new journey. He smiled softly, looking down at the penny he had received as a boy from a girl with black hair at the Summer Camp with Professor Oak. She had told him it was a good luck charm, but it wasn't really his in the first place. He chuckled at the thought of superstitious luck and continued to stare out the window, wondering for the first time in years where that girl was and what was she doing now?

~0~o~0~

"Quick, run for it!" The sound of footsteps pounding against the cave floor echoed loudly, alerting the wild Pokémon ahead that something was coming. That something was a sixteen-year-old girl, her raven ponytailed hair – with a braid covering the hairband from view – flying out behind her. Her sleeveless blue hoodie clung to her body, as did the black under top that was worn underneath it. Her blue and black sneakers were covered in dust and grime, whist her white, knee high socks were relatively clean, still far from touching her light blue shorts. Her hand was holding on to the red and black baseball cap that was jammed on her head to keep those pesky side spikes of hair from being too messy.

By her side, a yellow furred mouse like creature, with pointed rabbit ears and a lightning bolt shaped tail, was running too. His red circular cheeks letting out barely restrained electricity. If he fired off an electric attack now, then he had a high chance that he could hit his trainer as well. Not matter how tough she presented herself to be, he knew she couldn't take what he wanted to dish out at the horde of blue flying blood suckers chasing after them.

As the path opened up into a wide sandy coloured space with waterfalls, a grin formed on the girl's face. She skidded to a stop and turned around, pulling at her black fingerless gloves with a green band. "Gotchu fuckers now! Pikachu, Thunder!"

Happily, Pikachu surrounded himself in electrical energy, powering it up further than a mere Thunderbolt. As the Zubat hordes drew closer, he released the energy in their direction, creating storm clouds over the heads of the part flying types, adding a few extra mini bolts to hit their bodies. Cries of agony raised from the crowd, who happily flew away from the madwoman and her electric type partner.

Pikachu, proud of his handiwork, clambered up his trainer's leg and back to reach her shoulder, nuzzling his cheek into hers in an affectionate gesture, which she returned by gently scratching the top of his head. The electric mouse 'chu'-ed cutely, pleased by the massage he was receiving.

"Alright buddy," The trainer – Ashlynn Ketchum from Pallet Town – grinned, lowering her hand back down to her side as she looked around the area they were in. "This is the place, the Pokémon we're lookin' for should be around here. Keep ya eyes and ears out for me, 'kay?"

"Ka chu." Pikachu nodded, jumping back off of her shoulder to aid the search. He went over to a looming ledge of rock that towered over them, having caught a faint whiff of a scent there. As he turned back to face the open space, he heard the scurry of movement and turned his head, to see a Pokémon flying at him. "Pika pi!"

Ash whipped her head around, just as Pikachu backflipped himself to safety in front of her. The little blue Pokémon that had attacked glared at them with its stubby arms poised to attack. A smirk formed on both the trainer and the Pokémon's face, that was too easy.

"Alright, remember that dragon types resist your electric attacks," she took a deep breath in, steadying herself for the inevitable fight. "Quick Attack, let's go!" Pikachu dashed forwards, covered in a white glow as his speed increased tenfold. One moment, he was by his trainer, the next he was kicking Bagon in the stomach with his foot, sending the poor dragon type flying into the rock face. The dust settled down, just as Bagon pushed itself out of the indent it had make in the rock. Shaking its head, it roared and went to attack, mouth wide open with dark energy covering its fangs.

"Pikachu, dodge, then use Brick Break!" Pikachu jumped over the Bagon, landing on all fours behind it. Upon landing, his tail began to stiffen with a brownish aura surrounding it. Using his tail, Pikachu slapped Bagon in the face multiple times, before sending another hit to the gut, making it fly backwards once again. Bagon landed harshly on the ground struggling to get up, but it did so, glaring murder at its opponent. It opened its mouth, where an orb of whiteish, purple power was forming, before it shot the orb from its mouth directly at Pikachu. The dragon like face that had formed on the attack caused the electric type to falter, leading to a direct hit.

"Pikachu!" Ash shouted worriedly. Whilst the Pokémon she was fighting wasn't as high levelled as her starter Pokémon, Dragon Rage was a move that dealt a set amount a damage, no matter who or what was the opponent. She sighed in relief as Pikachu shook himself off and grinned, cheeks crackling with energy. "Thank goodness. Okay, then, use Thunderbolt!" Like before with the Zubats, her starter sounded himself with electrical energy, only this time he released it as a smaller, more concentrated beam of electricity. The Bagon had braced itself for impact, but still was pushed backwards by the sheer power Pikachu possessed. It tried to attack back, but it froze as sparkles of electricity roamed its body for a moment.

"Paralysed, perfect," Turning her hat backwards, Ash pulled out an empty Poké Ball and threw it towards the dragon type with the aim and precision of a baseball pitcher. The red and white device hit Bagon on the head, sucking it in with a red glow. The ball shook once, then twice, then three times before it dinged to show a successful capture. Both trainer and Pokémon cheered as they rushed over to the resting Poké Ball, with Ash picking it up and striking a pose. "I caught a Bagon!"

"Pik, Pikachu!" Pikachu added, jumping up and down in glee.

Releasing her new catch, the sixteen-year-old tended to her – the Pokédex revealed the Bagon to be a female – and Pikachu's injuries carefully, making sure not to hurt her Pokémon any more than they already were. Potions quickly healed minor injuries whilst berries restored their energy levels back to normal. Pikachu joined Ash's side as she knelt down in front of Bagon with a small smile on her face.

"Bagon, I'm your new trainer Ash, and this little bundle of death is Pikachu, my starter," Pikachu puffed his chest out proudly at his introduction, causing the two girls to giggle. "I really wanna be a Master, but first, I wanna win the Pokémon league. Are ya up for takin' on the world with me?" Bagon looked slightly doubtful until Ash continued speaking. "And, in exchange, I'll help ya learn how to fly. After all, ya evolve into the almighty Salamance! A dragon and flyin' type!" Bagon's eyes began to sparkle and she nodded, jumping up and down before launching herself at her new trainer.

"Ba! Ba gon gon!"

"Glad to have ya on board!" Standing up, Ash looked down on her partner, who jumped up onto her shoulder like usual. "Now, we've got trainin' ta do! Petalburg Gym, here we come!" She ran out of Meteor Falls, enjoying the energising feeling of the wind against her face. Her path was leading directly into that of another's, a person who she was destined to meet. However, she had no idea of what was coming her way.


End file.
